Not long after starting yoga workouts last winter, Michigan senior center Patrick Kugler noticed a significant difference in his health.

After battling injuries for much of his Michigan career, he felt like a new man.

“I love it,” Kugler said last weekend during a break from assisting with the Michigan elite camp. “I’ve been trying to do it at least 2-3 times a week. Flexibility has probably been the main issue with me throughout my years and it’s helped me just get under defensive linemen and all that.

“I was a big waist bender. I’ve still got that bad habit sometimes but it’s something I’m working on. Yoga and a lot of different things we’re doing here is helping with that.”

Kugler and a few teammates became the guinea pigs as they began taking classes at Center for Yoga in downtown Ann Arbor.

It made enough of a difference that Michigan football coach Jim Harbaugh embraced the idea and now it’s available for anyone on the team who’s interested.

Though Harbaugh personally remains at a distance – “I haven’t seen him out there yet, but that would be a great thing,” Kugler said – nearly 20-30 Wolverines are participating, setting up in a corner of Glick Field House.

“There’s a lot of stretching, a lot of mobility work,” he said. “Getting that strength up, trying to get ready.”

Kugler showed significant improvement this spring, starting at center the whole time as the other pieces moved around him, trying to find the best fit. He’s also being pushed by freshman Cesar Ruiz. But there’s enough confidence in Kugler that last year’s center, Mason Cole, spent much of the spring at left tackle, where he may stay this fall.

“Me and Mason try to take a leadership role,” said Kugler, who has worked a little at guard as well. “We’re the two seniors on the offensive line so we’re usually leading the meetings when it’s player-led meetings. So it’s going good and we’re getting a lot out of it.”

That’s helped the cohesion, with the tightest offensive line group that Kugler has experienced at U-M. They spend more time as a group away from workouts – he cited poker tournaments, playing euchre, weekends out together – despite more competition on the field.

The summer offensive line workouts have changed this summer from past years with the offensive line and defensive lines working against each other in the player-led practices, instead of separated like past years.

“This year it’s been a lot more serious,” Kugler said. “We’re getting out there and putting in the work. We’ll hit the sleds occasionally but that’s more for fall camp. It’s more about getting the technique properly down and running through blitz cards, what we’re going to see come Florida (Sept. 2.).

“Guys like Rashan (Gary) you’re going against who will make you better even if you’re not in pads. You’ve got to have proper technique or he’s going to beat you every time.”